06/17/1987 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mr. Porter reviewed the work plan in council packets, noting the timing of City Council actions and other elements. He said the State Fire Marshal's e inventory had been expected in March of this year, but because only portions of that inventory had been completed, the work plan had been set back. He said a supplementary City survey also was needed before adopting Article 80 of the Uniform Fire Code in order to allow time to work with existing businesses to make sure they understand the new ordi nance. Mr. Porter said community involvement efforts were expected to include the Citizen Involvement Committee, the Chamber of Commerce, the Metropolitan Partnership, and other industry groups' review and input. The University of Oregon would also be brought into this process. He said staff proposed that the regulatory process for zoning/land use, transportation, and treatment make use of existing update processes rather than initiating new processes. Mr. Porter said Councilor Holmer had mentioned omissions of sol id waste management and biological waste, and he said those areas would be included under treatment. He also said experts would be hired to deal with those areas. Mr. Porter said Fire Marshal Roger Cleland also was available to answer questions. Mr. Cleland said the Western Fire Chiefs and Building Code Officials were moving very quickly with adoption of Article 80 of the Uniform Fire Code in order to allow adoption of a national code with the '88 code- approval process. He said the State probably would not adopt the code until 1988, but he added that the 12 exempt cities in the state were approving Article 80 later this year. Ms. Ehrman asked about the mention in a June 10, 1987, memo that the City's e response team could be designated a regional response team for the State and whether that would include funding from the State. Mr. Cleland said that action was part of Senate Bills 115, 116, and 123 now before the Legislature. He said funding was a part of a $4.5 million package proposed for the Department of Environmental Quality. He said staff hoped for State support, but the process still was unresolved. Mr. Holmer said previous discussions had suggested that the program be self- ! sustaining, but the memo suggested that one-third of the cost be charged to the Genera 1 Fund because fees would not be sufficient. He asked about the rationale for that. Mr. Porter said staff was hesitant to state what fees would be, but they now appeared to be in the range of $200 per firm. He said that to exceed that fee would make Eugene inconsistent with other communities that did subsidize the fees. He said staff hoped to discuss the issue with industry representatives, and he noted that the regulations were advantageous for their own protection and insurance costs. He said the two-thirds was an estimate, but he said staff thought a subsidy would be required, at least in the beginning, in order to keep fees in line with the rest of the State. He said more detail on that issue would be presented at a future meeting. Mr. Whitlow added that the level of user fees or public subsidy or both would be a council decision. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 17, 1987 Page 12 i j 1 ~ < ~